Paint Chip Mini Quilt

We shared this mini quilt in a presentation at QuiltCon and promised attendees that they could find the tutorial on the blog. We first posted it about a year ago; here's the re-post:

Probably our cutest pre-cut packaging of our Painter's Palette Solids is our Paint Chips--a pack of 2-1/2" squares of 84 colors. It's a great way to get your hands on a large number of the colors!

We thought it would be fun to come up with a design that features all 84 of these squares. Today, we're sharing that tutorial, taking you from this: 

To this:

This mini quilt measures 24-1/2" wide x 26" tall and uses a Paint Chip pack plus Smoke solid, Lipstick solid, and backing fabric. 

Here's how to make it:

You'll Need

One paint chip pack (eighty-four 2-1/2" precut solid squares)

7/8 yard Smoke solid (121-090)

1/4 yard Lipstick solid (121-066)*

7/8 yard backing fabric

29" x 30" piece of batting

Cutting

From the Smoke solid:

(20) 2-1/2" squares

(3) 1-1/4" x 42" strips for binding*

(2) 3-1/2" x 24-1/2" strips

(3) 2-1/2" x 24-1/2" strips

(1) 2" x 24-1/2" strip

From the Lipstick solid:

(3) 1-1/2" x 42" strips for binding*

*We used a flange-style two-color binding. If you prefer a traditional binding, cut Smoke strips the way you normally would to finish the quilt. 

Making the Quilt Top

Note that the diagrams don't show the entire row specified; they're intended to provide an example of what part of the row should look like. 

1. Add (4) 2-1/2" Smoke squares to the paint chip pack for a total of (88) squares to use in the pieced rows. The remaining (16) Smoke squares will be used in step 4 to make half-square triangles (HSTs). Select (12) 2-1/2" squares in assorted colors and sew together into a square row. Make (2) rows of (12) squares each. 

2. Select (16) 2-1/2" squares in assorted colors and cut each in half to make 1-1/4" x 2-1/2" rectangles. Sew the (32) rectangles together to make a rectangle row.

3. Select (16) 2-1/2" squares in assorted colors and cut each in half to make 1-1/4" x 2-1/2" rectangles. Sew (2) assorted rectangles together and cut in half to create (2) two-patches. Make a total of (32) two-patches. Sew two-patches together in pairs to create four-patches, and join the (16) four-patches together to make a four-patch row.

4. Draw a diagonal line on the wrong side of the remaining (16) Smoke squares and (8) additional colored squares. Pair each marked square with an unmarked square and stitch 1/4" on either side of the marked line. Cut apart on the line and press HST units open. Trim each to measure 2" square. You'll have 32 Smoke/color HST units and 16 color HST units.

5. Noting orientation, sew together (16) Smoke/color HST units to make a Smoke/color HST row. Make 2 rows.

 6. Noting orientation, sew together (16) color HST units to make a color HST row. 

7. Referring to the quilt image and measurements listed below, sew the pieced rows and Smoke strips together to finish the quilt top.

Finishing
1. Layer the backing right side down, batting and quilt top right side up. Quilt as desired. Trim batting and backing even with quilt top. 
2. We used a flange-style binding to add a pop of color along the edge. Use the (3) 2-1/2" x 42" Lipstick strips and (3) 2-1/4" x 42" Smoke strips and follow this tutorial to bind the mini quilt. If you'd prefer a traditional binding, cut strips and bind your quilt as desired. 

A close-up of the flange binding

We hope you enjoyed our Paint Chip Sampler tutorial! See all 168 Painter's Palette Solids colors here and ask for them (and the Paint Chip packs!) at your local quilt shop.

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